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4 Feb 2009 : Column 1360W—continued
Health Services
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of levels of use of the NHS by people who have no right to free treatment. [253412]
Dawn Primarolo: The National Health Service (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations 1989, as amended, set out the criteria for eligibility for free NHS hospital care. It is the legal responsibility of all hospital trusts to ensure that the eligibility of all patients seeking treatment is confirmed and, if they are not eligible for free health care, that the appropriate charges for treatment are levied and subsequently recovered. The Department has provided comprehensive guidance on implementation of the charging regulations to help the NHS to discharge their responsibilities. Most hospitals employ staff specifically to undertake these duties.
We are committed to taking the strongest possible action to tackle abuse in NHS, including that committed by foreign nationals. The NHS Counter Fraud Service will thoroughly investigate allegations of fraud and also take steps to ensure that, wherever possible, fraud is prevented from occurring in the first place.
The Department is satisfied that these procedures ensure that the regulations are applied fairly and effectively, and that there has been no recent evidence that would justify any further assessment of levels of abuse at this time.
Health Services: Public Consultation
Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he plans to launch the public consultation on access to healthcare for foreign nationals. [251645]
Ann Keen: The Department and Home Office are jointly reviewing the rules on access of foreign nationals to national health service medical services. This review is ongoing and no decisions have yet been made on the very complex and inter-connecting issues under consideration. A public consultation will take place once the review is complete, giving everyone an opportunity to comment on the proposals.
HIV Infection: Fees and Charges
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will amend the NHS (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations 1989 to specify HIV as a condition exempt from charging. [253512]
Dawn Primarolo: The National Health Service (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations 1989, as amended, already state that diagnostic testing for HIV and any associated counselling is free of charge to all irrespective of their residency status. Overseas visitors not eligible for free hospital treatment are required to pay the full costs of any HIV treatment beyond the initial test and counselling. A review of access to the national health service by foreign nationals, including consideration of the diseases for which no charge is to be made for treatment, is currently ongoing. This is expected to be subject to a full consultation exercise shortly.
HIV Infection: Life Expectancy
Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) months and (b) years on average patients with HIV/AIDS have survived following their diagnosis with HIV in the last 20 years. [253653]
Dawn Primarolo: A recently published article in the Lancet (2008; 372:293-99) provides estimates of life expectancy for HIV-infected adults receiving combination antiretroviral therapy. It is based on analysis of over 43,000 patients from industrialised countries, including some from the United Kingdom. The median life expectancy for such patients was 63 years for those diagnosed at age 20 and 67 years for those diagnosed at age 35.
Figures are not available for each of the last 20 years, but the estimated life expectancy increased between the first period studied in the research (1996-99) and the last (2003-05). For those patients starting combination therapy at age 20, life expectancy increased from an estimated 56.1 years in 1996-99 to 69.4 years in 2003-05. Equivalent figures at age 35 are from 60 years to 72.3 years.
Hospital Beds
Ms Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) adult and (b) child respite beds there are per head of population in each health authority area. [250965]
Phil Hope: The Department does not collect data on the number of respite beds centrally.
Hospitals: Admissions
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many admissions were made to hospital wards on referral from accident and emergency units in (a) Hemel Hempstead and (b) England in the latest period for which figures are available. [253610]
Mr. Bradshaw:
The Department does not centrally collect the number of admissions made to hospital wards on referral from accident and emergency (A and
E) units for Hemel Hempstead, however data are collected for West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust which provides A and E services at Hemel Hempstead and Watford General Hospital. This information together with data for England in the latest period for which figures are available is set out as follows.
| Admissions through accident and emergency departments, NHS organisations in England, 2008-09 July to September (Q2)( 1) | ||
| Org code | Name | Admissions through A and E |
| (1) Status: Published 14 November 2008. Notes: 1. Data are collected at trust level rather than individual hospitals. 2. West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust provides A and E services at Hemel Hempstead General Hospital and Watford General Hospital. West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust also provides a Type 3 A and E department—other type of A and E/minor injury unit at St. Albans City Hospital, however this did not have any admissions through A and E. Source: Department of Health dataset QMAE | ||
Mass Media
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost of his Department's contracts with press monitoring services was in each of the last five years. [251219]
Mr. Bradshaw: The Department sources a national press cuttings service via a framework agreement used by various Government Departments. As such, the value of the 'contract' cannot be established in full; although a breakdown of costs incurred during the financial years 2003-04 to 2007-08 is given in the following table. Daily cuttings from the national press have been provided by EDS Media since 1 July 2007. Before July 2007 national press cuttings were provided by Durrants, whose contract commenced in April 2003.
| £ | ||
| Organisation | ||
| EDS Media | Durrants | |
Regional press cuttings are sourced from TNS Media Intelligence via a rolling agreement. A breakdown of costs incurred during the period 2003-04 to 2007-08 is given in the following table.
| Organisation: TNS Media Intelligence | |
| £ | |
The Media Monitoring Unit (MMU) is based in the Central Office of Information and provides a 24-hour a day, 365 days a year monitoring service of broadcast
and print media. They provide summaries throughout the day and overnight of key government-related stories and also transcripts of interviews on request. Records of the costs incurred start from the financial year 2004-05 and a breakdown is given in the following table.
| Organisation: MMU | |
| £ | |
The figures quoted in the tables above are all inclusive of VAT.
Medical Records: Internet
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what proportion of people in early adopter areas have registered for an advanced account with HealthSpace; and if he will make a statement. [252338]
Mr. Bradshaw: Patients are eligible for an advanced HealthSpace account once their general practitioner practice has created their summary care record (SCR). Information on the uptake to date of advanced HealthSpace accounts in each of the primary care trust (PCT) SCR early adopter areas is in the following table:
| PCT area | Registered accounts | Registered accounts as a percentage of patients with a SCR |
| (1 )Uploading of summary care records has not yet started in Dorset. In future, the facility to register for an advanced HealthSpace account will only be made available once uploading of summary care records has begun. | ||
Mental Health Services
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the effect of the economic downturn on the demand for mental health services. [253076]
Phil Hope: The Department has not commissioned research on the impact of the economic downturn on levels of demand for mental health services. However, we recognise that there are links between poor mental health and difficult economic circumstances and, in the current climate it is understandable that people might worry more about their finances and employment. Mental health services in England are now better prepared than ever before to provide help for these people.
Since 2001-02, real terms investment in adult mental health services increased by 44 per cent. (or £1.7 billion) putting in place the services and staff needed to transform mental health services. The NHS spent £5.53 billion on these services in 2007-08 (£3.844 billion in 2001-02).
We now have 64 per cent. more consultant psychiatrists, 71 per cent. more clinical psychologists and 21 per cent. more mental health nurses than we had in 1997, providing better care and support for people with mental health problems. (Full-time equivalent).
Because of the National Service Framework and increased funding, we now have over 740 new community mental health teams offering home treatment, early intervention, or intensive support for people who might otherwise have been admitted to hospital.
Further, we are investing significantly in the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme with annual funding rising to £173 million in the third year (2010-11), to train 3,600 extra therapists and treat 900,000 more people in those three years.
This programme is relieving distress and transforming lives by offering effective intervention and treatment choice to people with depression and anxiety disorders and improving the collection, recording and measuring of patients' health outcomes.
35 new services were launched last month, with more than 800 therapy workers now offering this support to people who need it.
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to improve the care of people with mental health problems regarding service redesign and strengthening local partnerships across traditional organisational boundaries in (a) England and (b) the Sefton Primary Care Trust. [253414]
Phil Hope: Specialist care is now often provided in the community, through multi-disciplinary community mental health teams, which give general long-term care, and three specialist teams, each the subject of national targets over the last five years:
crisis resolution/home treatment teams provide intensive support for people in mental health crisis in their own home, reducing the need to be admitted to hospital;
assertive outreach teams engage with people with severe and persistent mental illness with complex needs who have difficulty engaging with services and often require repeat admissions to hospitals; and
early intervention teams provide services to those experiencing a first episode of psychosis.
Further, the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme is rolling out across England, training a new workforce of therapists to help the national health service implement the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidelines for the treatment of common mental health conditions of depression and anxiety disorders. 35 primary care trusts (PCTs) are launching their IAPT services in this first year and have recruited more than 800 trainees. There is £33 million funding available in this first year. More PCTs will follow in each of the next two years as a further £140 million in funding is released and we expect Sefton PCT to be developing an IAPT service in the second year.
IAPT services build strong ties with local employment services, helping people stay in or return to work if mental health problems have put their job at risk or prevented them getting one while they have been unwell.
The North West strategic health authority (SHA) reports that Sefton PCT proposes to spend around £31 million on mental health services in 2008-09. A similar amount was spent in 2007-08.
The PCT has been awarded Improved Access to Psychological Therapy development site status from 1 April 2009, which should bring with it additional resource to develop services for people with common mental health problems.
The SHA also reports that services commissioned from Mersey Care Trust are achieving key performance indicators for crisis resolution/home treatment, early intervention in psychosis and assertive outreach services.
Jointly with the local authority, the PCT has commissioned the required number of black and ethnic minority community development workers who are located within the Sefton Equalities Partnership.
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